1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning an object surface. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning an object surface, which mixes compressed air and a cleaning solution in a manner which atomizes the cleaning solution and delivers the cleaning solution to the object surface to be cleaned.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ordinarily, when an individual wishes to clean a floor, they fill a pail with water and a cleaning solution and apply the resultant water/cleaning solution mixture to the floor with a mop. This procedure, however, is terribly inefficient and does not effectively clean the floor. In fact, this method of cleaning typically renders the floor less clean than before the mopping. This is because the individual doing the mopping will repeatedly rinse the dirty mop in the same water/cleaning solution pail. Each time the individual rinses the mop in the pail they just spread the dirty water/cleaning solution onto the floor. Further, this method of cleaning typically leaves a significant amount of water on the floor, thereby making the mopped surface slippery and, therefore, dangerous to persons walking thereupon. Also, this method requires a significant amount of time for the surface to thoroughly dry, or requires a separate drying step to be performed.
Other spray and extract equipment now in use are required to produce a great deal of water volume on the order of 1-3 gallons per minute and water pressures on the order of 50-250 psi to enable the standard spray nozzle to function (proper spray pattern). Furthermore, this method of cleaning typically leaves a significant amount of water on the floor, thereby making the surface slippery and dangerous to persons walking thereupon. Also, this method requires a significant amount of time and labor to thoroughly dry the surface.
In other situations, such as when an individual wishes to clean equipment, the user washes the equipment by using a standard garden hose or a hand pumped or powered pressure sprayer. This not only floods the area around the equipment with water, but also may be impractical if the equipment is located in an area which can not be flooded. Further, this method of cleaning typically uses more water than that actually required to satisfactorily clean the equipment. Similar to the mop and pail method, this method also requires a significant amount of time for the equipment to dry, or requires a separate drying step to be performed.
Therefore, there remains the need for a cleaning apparatus which can deliver a cleaning solution to a surface to be cleaned without delivering too much or too little cleaning solution.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which is capable of delivering an atomized cleaning solution to an object surface to be cleaned.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which allows adjustment for the amount of cleaning solution delivered to the object surface to be cleaned.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus, which is capable of removing the cleaning solution from the object surface after it has been delivered thereto by a built-in vacuum system.
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus for cleaning an object surface is provided. The apparatus generally includes a junction, a holding tank for containing a cleaning solution therein and a compressor in fluid communication with the holding tank. The holding tank is in fluid communication with a first inlet of the junction and the compressor is also in fluid communication with a second inlet of the junction. The compressor supplies an amount of compressed air to the holding tank to create a positive pressure in the tank thereby forcing an amount of cleaning solution out of the tank into the first inlet of the junction. The compressor also supplies an amount of compressed air to the second inlet of the junction where it is combined with the cleaning solution supplied at the first inlet of the junction to produce an atomized mist discharged from an outlet of the junction without the need for any added special apparatus (i.e., a pump) to develop the atomized mist.
The apparatus further preferably includes a vacuum unit producing a suction at the junction outlet and a restrictor valve for adjusting the amount of cleaning solution supplied by the holding tank to the first inlet of the junction. The restrictor valve preferably allows for varying the amount of cleaning solution supplied by the holding tank from about 5 gallons per minute to about 0.015 gallons per minute, which produces a vapor-mist spray without the need for additional apparatus that is needed in all other xe2x80x9cmistingxe2x80x9d equipment in use today.
In the preferred embodiment, a standard nozzle is provided at the outlet of the junction for discharging the atomized cleaning solution onto the object surface to be cleaned and for removing the atomized cleaning solution from the object surface to the vacuum unit. The nozzle preferably includes a first port in fluid communication with the outlet of the junction for discharging the atomized cleaning solution and a second port in fluid communication with the vacuum unit for removing the discharged cleaning solution into the vacuum unit.
In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus includes a pump for supplying the amount of cleaning solution to the first inlet of the junction. In this embodiment, the compressor merely supplies compressed air to the second inlet of the junction where it is combined with the cleaning solution supplied by the pump so as to atomize the cleaning solution. The atomized cleaning solution is then discharged from the outlet of the junction onto the object surface to be cleaned.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be to find in the appended claims.